Death. The one thing that could really bring his career back to life. A great business move.

From Thriller:

Michael Jackson wrote:Night creatures calling, the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There's no escaping the jaws of the alien this time

This is the end of your life

They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side
They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night I'll save you from the terror on the screen

I'll make you see

He was a rare genius. Metta to his children.

Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
Uncover, then, what is concealed,
Lest it be soddened by the rain.

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

May Michael, and all who loved him, and all who didn't, be at peace and at ease.

"To reach beyond fear and danger we must sharpen and widen our vision. We have to pierce through the deceptions that lull us into a comfortable complacency, to take a straight look down into the depths of our existence, without turning away uneasily or running after distractions." -- Bhikkhu Bodhi

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -- Heraclitus

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.John Stuart Mill

"Unindicated and unknown is the length of life of those subject to death. Life is difficult and brief and bound up with suffering. There is no means by which those who are born will not die. Having reached old age, there is death. This is the natural course for a living being. With ripe fruits there is the constant danger that they will fall. In the same way, for those born and subject to death, there is always the fear of dying. Just as the pots made by a potter all end by being broken, so death is (the breaking up) of life.

"The young and old, the foolish and the wise, all are stopped short by the power of death, all finally end in death. Of those overcome by death and passing to another world, a father cannot hold back his son, nor relatives a relation. See! While the relatives are looking on and weeping, one by one each mortal is led away like an ox to slaughter.

"In this manner the world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve, having realized the nature of the world. You do not know the path by which they came or departed. Not seeing either end you lament in vain. If any benefit is gained by lamenting, the wise would do it. Only a fool would harm himself. Yet through weeping and sorrowing the mind does not become calm, but still more suffering is produced, the body is harmed and one becomes lean and pale, one merely hurts oneself. One cannot protect a departed one (peta) by that means. To grieve is in vain.

"By not abandoning sorrow a being simply undergoes more suffering. Bewailing the dead he comes under the sway of sorrow. See other men faring according to their deeds! Hence beings tremble here with fear when they come into the power of death. Whatever they imagine, it (turns out) quite different from that. This is the sort of disappointment that exists. Look at the nature of the world! If a man lives for a hundred years, or even more, finally, he is separated from his circle of relatives and gives up his life in the end. Therefore, having listened to the arahant,1 one should give up lamenting. Seeing a dead body, one should know, "He will not be met by me again." As the fire in a burning house is extinguished with water, so a wise, discriminating, learned and sensible man should quickly drive away the sorrow that arises, as the wind (blows off) a piece of cotton. He who seeks happiness should withdraw the arrow: his own lamentations, longings and grief.

"With the arrow withdrawn, unattached, he would attain to peace of mind; and when all sorrow has been transcended he is sorrow-free and has realized Nibbana

tiltbillings wrote:Considering all the people who died yesterday, why do we separate out this very sad, highly troubled individual for special mention?

This this slogan should be posted on the front door of every funeral chapel in the world. Sometimes folks can use a good laugh when they're feeling blue.

Matter of perspective isn't it?
Just because the dead man cannot come back to answer such witless comments, doesn't mean his fans or sympathizers have to respond on his behalf.
This reminds me of a high school teacher who once remarked: "Even if you die today, the world won't miss you".
And I don't know what gave me the courage to retort back: "So, does that mean you are gonna carry your own casket then?" She remained silent.
Similarly, when any living being whose time is up and when Impermanence comes knocking, whether they are mentioned or not, the last honour offered for such is nothing more than a respectful token of silence or an aspiration for their next opportune rebirth. Hence, this thread.

thornbush wrote:Similarly, when any living being whose time is up and when Impermanence comes knocking, whether they are mentioned or not, the last honour offered for such is nothing more than a respectful token of silence or an aspiration for their next opportune rebirth. Hence, this thread.

Frankly, I didn't respect Michael Jackson when he was alive, so don't plan to start it now that he's gone. It would be hypocritical for me to change my tune suddenly. Sure, I wish him well... but don't respect him and certainly have no intention of honouring him. The act of dying in and of itself doesn't warrant any honour.